HOLY MONDAY

EXALTATION

Take a moment to rest and prepare your heart and mind to hear from God.

1. Listen
2. Read

Isaiah 52:13
Behold, my servant shall act wisely; he shall be high and lifted up, and shall be exalted.

Isaiah 53:1
Who has believed what he has heard from us?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?

Look at the servant of Yahweh– Jesus.
He embraces his role. By Monday of his final week, news of Jesus has stirred thousands of people around Galilee, Judea, and beyond. The arm of the LORD has been revealed, with even more to come.

Isaiah anticipated Jesus would be exalted.
He said it three different ways for emphasis. Witnesses to the crucifixion might not see it, but Jesus being raised on the cross leads to his exaltation—a name above every other name.

3. Reflect

Read Psalm 145:1-3 Aloud

1 I will exalt you, my God and King, and praise your name forever and ever.
2 I will praise you every day; yes, I will praise you forever.
3 Great is the Lord! He is most worthy of praise! No one can measure his greatness.

  1. What are other words or phrases you can use to exalt the name of Jesus? 
  2. How will you exalt Jesus in your life this week?
HOLY TUESDAY

FORM & APPEARANCE

Take a moment to rest and prepare your heart and mind to hear from God.

1. Listen
2. Read

Isaiah 52:14
But many were amazed when they saw him. His face was so disfigured he seemed hardly human, and from his appearance, one would scarcely know he was a man.

Isaiah 53:2
My servant grew up in the Lord’s presence like a tender green shoot, like a root in dry ground. There was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance, nothing to attract us to him.

Genesis 2:9
The Lord God made all sorts of trees grow up from the ground—trees that were beautiful and that produced delicious fruit. In the middle of the garden he placed the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Back in Paradise, the trees of the garden had a pleasing appearance, but not the servant of Yahweh.
He is unremarkable. He’s like a tree growing in the wrong place– he looks like he won’t last long. How could this person have any significance?

Isaiah anticipated that Jesus was unimpressive to look at, and it would get worse!
His “form” and “appearance” would cause some people outrage during his ministry. By his final 24 hours, many would be appalled and horrified by looking at him. 

But we aren’t among those who look away…

3. Reflect
  1. As Jesus was out of the normal, does your walk cause you to stand out or do you blend in with the crowd?
  2. What inner qualities of Jesus do you need in your own life?
  3. Ask the Holy Spirit to birth in you those qualities to edify others and bring glory to God.
HOLY WEDNESDAY

REJECTED BY MANKIND YET INNOCENT

Take a moment to rest and prepare your heart and mind to hear from God.

1. Listen
2. Read

Isaiah 53: 3-4
He was despised and rejected—a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care.

Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins!

Isaiah 53: 7-9
He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet he never said a word. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth.

Unjustly condemned, he was led away. No one cared that he died without descendants, that his life was cut short in midstream. But he was struck down for the rebellion of my people.

He had done no wrong and had never deceived anyone. But he was buried like a criminal; he was put in a rich man’s grave.

People who encounter the servant of Yahweh have very strong reactions to him.
Many can’t stand to look in his direction. They spit when they hear his name. But it’s not enough to shun him! Some people conspire against Jesus because his ministry has put their whole way of life in question.

Isaiah anticipated that people would reject Jesus and wrongfully attack him.
When Jesus was executed as a criminal, many onlookers assumed that he suffered for his own sins. Yet Jesus did not defend himself or protest his innocence. 

God’s perfect lamb, who takes away sins, was silent before his accusers.

3. Reflect
There can be power in silence.
  1. Are you comfortable remaining silent before your accusers? 
  2. Do you feel the need to voice your opinion, present your side of the argument, win the debate?
  3. How can you put the power of silence into practice?
MAUNDY THURSDAY

SUBSTITUTE

Take a moment to rest and prepare your heart and mind to hear from God.

1. Listen
2. READ

Isaiah 53:5-6
But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed.

All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all.
Isaiah 53: 10a
But it was the Lord’s good plan to crush him and cause him grief.

Isaiah 53: 11b
And because of his experience, my righteous servant will make it possible for many to be counted righteous, for he will bear all their sins.

Isaiah 53: 12c
He bore the sins of many and interceded for rebels.

Yahweh’s servant is crushed, pierced through, and scourged for us.
We are all wayward in our own ways. We need correction. We need forgiveness. We need healing. Jesus took our punishment, so that we might be forgiven, cleansed, healed.

Isaiah said that Yahweh planned a better sacrifice than animals.
God so loved the world that he gave his unique Son to atone for our sins. He laid on Jesus the punishment for our iniquities, so that Jesus might make us righteous. 

We can have confidence to approach God because he demonstrated his love for us.

3. Reflect
  1. What struggle do you need to lay at the cross?
  2. What sin do you need to confess and receive the Lord’s forgiveness?
Stay in this space as long as you need.
GOOD FRIDAY

VINDICATED

Take a moment to rest and prepare your heart and mind to hear from God.

1. Listen
2. READ

Isaiah 53: 10-12
But it was the Lord’s good plan to crush him and cause him grief. Yet when his life is made an offering for sin, he will have many descendants. He will enjoy a long life, and the Lord’s good plan will prosper in his hands.

When he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish, he will be satisfied. And because of his experience, my righteous servant will make it possible for many to be counted righteous, for he will bear all their sins.

I will give him the honors of a victorious soldier, because he exposed himself to death. He was counted among the rebels. He bore the sins of many and interceded for rebels.

Yahweh was willing  to crush his servant by means of oppressive human hands.
On Friday, Jesus gives himself willingly as an offering for our sin. So, he produces spiritual offspring– disciples. Though Jesus dies on the cross, “he will prolong his days.” He told the disciples he won’t leave them alone. He will rise on the third day.

Isaiah anticipated that Jesus would accomplish what pleases the LORD.
He would die in torment to atone for our sins, and the Father would be pleased. But torment changes to joy, oppression to vindication, martyrdom to victory. 

“…but on the third day, he will rise.”

3. Reflect
  1. How have you experienced victory in the Lord?
  2. How do you handle times when you struggle, feel oppressed, or stuck?
  3. How can you experience victory again?
HOLY  SATURDAY

EXALTED

Take a moment to rest and prepare your heart and mind to hear from God.

1. Listen
2. READ

Isaiah 52:13
Behold, my servant shall act wisely; he shall be high and lifted up, and shall be exalted.

Isaiah 52:15
And he will startle many nations. Kings will stand speechless in his presence. For they will see what they had not been told; they will understand what they had not heard about.

Isaiah 53:12
I will give him the honors of a victorious soldier, because he exposed himself to death. He was counted among the rebels. He bore the sins of many and interceded for rebels.

As planned, after atoning for sin, the servant of Yahweh will be exalted the highest of all.
News of a crucified King, vindicated and raised from the dead, will startle the nations. The King who conquered death will leave lesser kings speechless. 

Isaiah said Jesus would receive the spoils and inheritance from his successful mission.
In his own words: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me”– the inheritance. “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you”– the spoils. 

Philippians 2: 9-11
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
3. Reflect
  1. Are you living in expectation?
  2. Are you allowing the Holy Spirit to reveal his power in your life?
  3. You are a child of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords! Do you live a life that resembles this truth?